Interim Step One: Let's Talk About Self-Judgment

Why Being Hard on Ourselves As We're Trying To Begin A Story Is The Exact WRONG Thing To Do

I just caught myself doing something terrible, and I wanted to share it with you, because it is the absolute death knell of creativity. It’s a nasty word that I despise. Judgment. Just look at it. It’s not pretty; it’s awkwardly spelled, with a combination of letters that aren’t common. (Look at me being judgy.) It’s ugly, and something I try hard to avoid if at all possible. From Mirram Webster:

judgment (noun)

1 a: the process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing.
b: an opinion or estimate so formed.

2 a: the capacity for judging: discernment.
b: the exercise of this capacity.

3 a: a formal utterance of an authoritative opinion.